COLUMN: Don't count on pitch-counting

Monday

Feb 6, 2017 at 3:34 AM

Ron Moshier @OD_Moshier

If you happen to be an over-officious sports writer who doesn’t trust a coach to produce an accurate number at the end of the day, then counting pitches at a high school or American Legion Baseball game is nothing new.

If you are wondering whether or not this year’s new pitch-count restrictions for high school and American Legion Baseball will do what the powers that be hope they will do … well, then, you are not alone.

For now, let’s call this rule change a necessary evil.

Without question, there is a problem. There is no denying that. Research has shown a significant increase in the number of sports-related, overuse injuries and arm and elbow surgeries to teenagers, especially young baseball pitchers. So it’s no wonder the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations issued a nationwide mandate, calling for every state to implement pitch-count limits for the 2017 high school season.

American Legion baseball has adopted similar guidelines, limiting the number of pitches that can be thrown in one day and requiring a set number of off-days in between outings, depending on how many pitches are thrown.

Good intentions, no doubt. But is the aim true, and are pitch counts — instead of innings limits — in high school and American Legion ball really going to get to the heart of what’s the matter?

For safety’s sake, at least one area coach believes these pitch-count limits should have been mandated a long time ago. Truth be told, some have not been as pitch-count conscious as others when a pitcher’s workload was left up to the discretion of the coach. Some coaches even concede: “We may have brought this rule change upon ourselves.”

Guilty or not, right or wrong, New Hartford baseball coach Kevin Green figures “the thought has to be that kids are being mishandled by coaches.”

Understandably, most coaches, including Green — who played professional baseball — do not agree with that notion. Yes, fewer and fewer coaches work in the school district; even fewer are trained physical education instructors; and there’s no telling how many of them were pitchers in their heyday. And yes, all it takes is one case of perceived “abuse” and every coach comes under scrutiny.

That said, very few of those cases have ever been brought to this over-officious sports writer’s attention, and vilifying every high school and American Legion coach seems unfair, considering there are reasons to blame the growing trend of arm injuries on the cumulative effect — overuse over time — poor mechanics, kids specializing in one sport at a younger age, and playing that sport year-round.

Little League established its own pitch-count limits years ago, but travel team baseball in the summer and fall often go unregulated.

“We are counting the wrong things,” said one local coach who is not convinced a high school pitch-count limit is the answer. “It’s another safety rule that isn’t needed,” said another. “High school baseball in New York has worked for a long time as is,” said another. “Pitch counts are an attempt to solve an issue that is not really a problem for Upstate New York, or 99 percent of its players,” said another.

None of them deny there is a problem, or that some of their own have crossed that heretofore imaginary line. But they question the source of the problem, and whether or not a pitch-count limit is a viable solution. They argue, “one size doesn’t fit all” — that every pitcher is different — and they question a rule change that still allows a pitcher who has reached his pitch-count limit to play catcher, shortstop, third base or outfield in the same game.

“The numbers speak for themselves; something needs to be done,” said Greg Gaeta, former Utica Post 229 coach and the local District V chairman for American Legion Baseball. “We don’t know whether or not this will work. It can’t hurt.”

He’s right. Physically, it can’t hurt. We may soon discover, however, that these rule changes are hazardous to the general health and competitive well-being of high school and American Legion Baseball in this area. In essence, aren’t we dulling any competitive edge a player or a team might have over another? Aren’t we curbing the enthusiasm and dumbing down a game already starving for the attention of millennials who consider baseball too slow, even boring?

Games will no doubt last longer. Scoring will increase. The quality of play, especially at the small-school level, will most likely suffer. At least Legion ball has a 10-run mercy rule, something high schools should seriously consider now that pitch-count restrictions and a shortage of capable arms will likely lead to some very ugly outcomes.

No, none of the above matters as much as the physical well-being of a high school or Legion player. But will setting pitch-count limits — a “knee-jerk reaction” as far as one local coach is concerned — really help reduce the number of arm injuries?

Only time will tell (maybe). But the semi-educated, over-officious guess here, unfortunately, is a swing and a miss.

Ron Moshier covers high school sports for the Observer-Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @OD_Moshier or write to him at rmoshier@uticaod.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.